10 Ways You Can Make More Money With an MBA

Whether an advanced degree is worthwhile depends on your career and life goals ― but if one of your goals is to make a ton of money, you should seriously consider pursuing an MBA. Being a leader in business is incredibly lucrative, and merely having an MBA gives you several opportunities to earn extra cash. Here are a few of the top ways to make more money with your MBA.

Climb Career Ladder

This is the most typical option for MBA grads, but it shouldn’t be overlooked as a means to make more money. MBAs are primed for business leadership roles, and as such, they tend to earn at least 50 percent more than workers who lack advanced business degrees. Backed by the experience of an MBA program, grads find it dramatically easier to secure higher-level jobs ― potentially earning coveted spots in C-suites of major corporations.

Change Careers

Nearly anyone can return to business school to obtain an MBA ― especially an MBA online, which is often more flexible while as equally valuable as a traditional program. Even better, nearly every industry is in need of MBA experience, which means grads can switch careers with relative ease. With an MBA, you can chase your dream with a good chance of catching it.

Go International

You might harbor a fantasy of living in a foreign place, and an MBA can take you there. International businesses are usually hunting for educated and experienced American professionals to guide their international activities. Often, going global offers more pay ― especially if you settle down with a comfortable salary in developing country with a low cost of living.

Start a Business

Entrepreneurship isn’t easy, but if you can build a successful business, the payoff is huge. Some of the most famous (and richest) business leaders are entrepreneurs: Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, etc. An MBA program is perhaps the best preparation for entrepreneurship because most programs offer comprehensive business education, which entrepreneurs need for the beginning stages of their startups. Plus, the network MBA students cultivate is indispensable for entrepreneurs looking for hardworking business partners and beneficent investors.

Build a Business

Then again, if you don’t have a killer business idea, you can still have a hand in building a burgeoning business by gaining an MBA. If you are a millennial, you are likely drawn to startups due to their intimate culture and compelling values. With an MBA, you will have the knowledge and skill to improve your favorite new business, building its profits and ensuring its (and your) eventual success.

Contract

Already, freelancers make up more than 35 percent of the American workforce; by 2020, that number could exceed half of all jobs in America. MBA grads can make some extra cash by performing contract work on the side. Freelance work provides flexibility in quantity and content, and many companies that use freelancers pay extra for advanced credentials like MBAs.

Consult

Not all companies have the cash to hire MBAs full time, but many can still call upon your expertise if you offer your services through management consulting. A management consultant works alongside a business’s leaders to solve problems and establish programs that will benefit workers and company alike. In the past decade, consulting firms have grown 14 percent, meaning there is plenty of opportunity for you to find a consulting position for extra cash.

Cultivate Investments

MBAs have access to dozens of courses on finance and economics, and as a result, many become professional financial analysts. However, instead, you might apply your newfound market knowledge to developing a personal investment portfolio. Investing is exceedingly complex, but a suitably diverse portfolio and savvy decision-making can make you unimaginably rich outrageously quickly.

Write a Book

While most people harbor secret dreams of writing a bestselling novel, you might capitalize instead on the growing market for business-related books. Armed with the experience of an MBA, you can give aspiring business leaders advice about finding business success or tell your harrowing story of finding money and happiness. If your pitch is compelling, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding an agent and a publisher ― though self-publishing is always an option.

Teach

Business schools need staffs ― and the more experience you have in business and business education, the better. Sometimes, MBA programs will hire professionals to give brief courses or single lectures on their success. However, if you grow tired of the business world, you can retire fully into academia to pass your business knowledge onto future generations.